The invention disclosed in my earlier-filed co-pending U.S. application, Ser. No. 514,370 filed Oct. 15, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,292, entitled "Pilfer-Proof Neckband for a Bottle" provided a need for a production machine and process to produce the labelled bottles.
Since the nature of the product calls for shrinking a cellular polymeric material that is oriented for contraction upon sufficient heating onto a glass bottle, for example, that is filled with a product such as food, beverage or beer, the encircling label needs to be contracted onto a relatively cold bottle without benefit of preheat. The cellular material, on the other hand, is a heat insulator and has a relatively low thermal transmission rate through the material from its outside to inside surfaces. In prior processes, such as my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,767,496 and 3,802,942, the cellular polymeric material has been subjected to heating on opposite surfaces by preheating the base article to which the encircling form of the material is applied to a temperature of 225.degree. F. or more. When applying the encircling form of cellular, shrinkable material on capped bottles containing food products or the like, it should be apparent that preheating of this nature is impractical, and the bottles need be at ambient temperature when the shrinking by heat takes place. This requires shrinking the material onto the "cold" bottle by applying heat sufficient for shrinking it from the external surface. In so doing, the insulating effect of the cellular plastic invariably creates wrinkles in the encircling material as it is shrunken. When using the material as a label or for decorative purposes on the bottle, the random and uncontrolled wrinkling in the material as it shrinks produces an unsatisfactory appearance of the product.